Housing Research Brief

Encouraging and discouraging trends at play in housing. Existing home sales increased 1.1 percent year over year in July 2025 to a six-month high, aided by a steadily climbing number of listings. The supply of homes at the current sales pace has eased back from the May high of 4.2 months, but the liquidity measure is still at one of its highest levels in more than five years. The added options for prospective buyers has siphoned upward momentum away from home prices. In July, the median home price inched up just 0.3 percent over the past year, which was the smallest margin since late 2023. Recent downward movement in mortgage rates may further open the door for sales. The average 30-year fixed rate mortgage was at 6.58 percent in late August — down from a mean of 6.96 percent early in the year.